Ms. Chang’s Path to Success

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Arranged by Sherin Lajevardi |Staff Writer|

Initially, when I was younger my main aspiration was to pursue something humanities based. For example, at first I wanted to do literature, but I also wanted to do history, and at one point I even wanted to major in music or do something in the movies. The movies was the biggest one, but ultimately I chose to be a history teacher. But I always just knew I wanted to do something based in the humanities and arts. This wasn’t my first job, so when I got out of college I had a hard time trying to find a job I was truly happy with. I first worked in the housing finance for a bit, and actually went to law school for a semester. Law school really didn’t work out, so I actually withdrew and had to reassess. The year after I graduated college was difficult for me, but in the end it was worth it. I learned that it’s ok to take risks and if you don’t make it, it can only make you better. Additionally, what it shows is now that you have gone through that experience, you know not everything fits you, and it’s ok. My experience also gave me an outlook about what type of person I am, and made me realize that not everyone can be a lawyer, just like how not everyone has the mentality to be a teacher. It was really eye-opening to see that your personality and your attitude towards things really are important in determining what job and career is best fit for you. Obviously, law is not one of the humanities I originally had in mind. It’s just like what a lot of kids think here at Irvington. People do not think that the humanities sector is important or that is something that can get you a career, which is why I tried law school. I was looking for stability and was hoping it would provide me with that stability in a career. However, it turned out that it didn’t and it was a wakeup call for me to go back to what I really wanted to be doing. I decided that history was always the one that came back to me. I’ve loved history ever since I was a little kid, and it would always be really hard to pull me away from reading historical nonfiction and fiction, so that’s why I became a teacher. I am extremely happy with what I chose and to teach and look through historical content. It has probably been the best decision I have made in my life so far.